Yeah that’s true b r but I’d like to be able to keep my hope headset if possible. I have Fox F100 forks so the Prince Albert might be a little to trail/dh orientated? I’ve got a DMR Bolt L for that kind of thing.

Just a quick update on my tubeless conversion. Now set up with 2 wraps of Tesa tape and Joes No Flats solution with Hutchison Fusion 3 tyres everything seems to be holding air fine. There were a few little burps when riding to begin with but now that everything has settled down it seems to be sorted.

The Gorilla tape was a disaster, it wouldn’t hold air for very long and left an incredible sticky mess on the rim so that’ll tech me for trying to go down the cheap route :-)

There is a huge difference in the feel of the tyres on the road compared to the cheap Vittorias I had previously. I’d say it is a big improvement over the veloflex masters that I’d used last summer too. Only time will tell whether they prove to be more puncture resistant as hoped but for now they seem to be a worthy upgrade even with the hassle of getting them set up.

Thanks for the suggestion, it looks like a contender but what makes it particularly better than the Zoostorm one? Does an integrated graphics card allow dual monitor capability or is it only separate graphics gards that do that?

How about this?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zoostorm-7270-3012-i5-4460-3-2GHz-Operating/dp/B00K8TKW0G/ref=pd_sim_147_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0SKYE1SCM6E128YPDM6A

I’ve never heard of Zoostorm before but they seem to receive good reviews. I appreciate the budget is fairly limited but it’s really just a workstation for a summer employee to do some CAD and sketchup on rather than something that’s going to churning out huge renders etc.

Have had some success with the rear tyre which now has 2 wraps of gorilla tape but the front which has only 1 wrap has deflated again during the day. The conclusion is that I need to get some proper tape, either tesa or stans as the gorilla tape just doesn’t work properly. Does anyone know if there are any high street shops that sell Tesa 4289?

I’ve pumped them up to 120psi to try and get them seated but still burping and probably still losing pressure but haven’t checked recently.

So I got the bike going now and so far not so good. If I hit a square edge pothole or ride up the small kerb to the driveway the front tyre burps about 10psi a time. I used gorilla tape and cut it narrower to sit on the flat part of the rim covering the spoke holes and not lapping up the side walls. Would adding another layer of tape help the beads seat in the rim better?

I ended up going for the Hutchison fusion 3 from wiggle. I used some Joe’s no flats sealant that has worked on my mtbs. They were easy enough to get on and equally easy to inflate but they’re completely flat after a night in the garage.

I’ve not ridden the bike yet as it needs a new cassette so I’m wondering if it’ll take a ride to get everything properly seated and sealed up? If not where am I going wrong?

Yes, having looked I think there is more value in the sentiment than the book itself and a fairly rough first edition for £350 doesn’t seem like a very good investment. Think I’ll buy new and use the money left over for another treat of some sort.

Can you be more specific? The cheapest I can find Schwalbe Ones is from ze Ribble Valley :-)

Right, Reggiegasket has sorted out the tape I think. I love an ebay bargain.

Schwalbe Ones look too pricey at over £70 a pair. Anything cheaper that I should consider? The Hutchison Fusion 3 on Wiggle could be an option as they’re a bit cheaper.

What’s the cheapest tape I could use. Any reason not to just use insulating tape?

You’re not an architect then I take it? :D

Seriously though, I get no satisfaction from my job whatsoever and am expected to want to work late for free as if it is my calling.

What I do feel strongly about is the value of vocational skills and the need for young people to understand that there is value in all skills whether they’re are going to take them to a university education or not. I love the practical side of the subject and am well qualified in the design side of it too so am I wrong to think that I might get some satisfaction out of a job teaching? I’ve not been on holiday for the past 10 years, hard work or stress would not be any great shock to me.

Oh they do look a nightmare to fit properly. Sorry if I’ve given you duff advice :?

I’ve got some and they’re great. Really easy to fit.

Remember that once they’re fitted you can make minor adjustments by unscrewing the allen bolt that holds the SS rods in place near the axle. This allows you to adjust the mudguard up, down, left and right just enough to get everything pretty much parallel to the wheel.

Househusband which school do you work in if you don’t mind me asking?

Do you think there is any opportunity for a bit of in school experience? I’m keen to get a feel for what the job entails and would love to find an opportunity to do so in the local area.

It’s not a reflection on the schools in Fife or the area itself, she has loved her time in both of the schools in Fife that she has been training in. She was simply told by her tutors that the graduates tend to opt to live and work in the cities hence Fife not necessarily getting as many applicants. Whether that is true or not is another matter but it sounds logical as it happens in other jobs too. I guess teachers often have spouses or dependants whose careers are city based too.

Thanks. That all sounds a bit more positive :-). I guess you never know until you try. It’s got to be an improvement on the amount of architecture jobs at least.

To be honest availability of jobs isn’t something that I had considered too much. I wouldn’t really be looking to work in Edinburgh or Glasgow though. I’m based just over the Tay in Fife so I guess I’d be well placed for Fife, Dundee and Perth with a little more travelling to get further afield. From what my wife has learned so far she’s under the impression that Fife is not such a popular place for teachers to apply to compared to the cities so it might be okay.

That’s actually quite good to hear because although I’m very comfortable with various types of design, one of the things that frustrates me about my current job is the lack of opprtunities to be hands on with practical craft.

What professional/educational background and qualifications did you have before doing the pgde?

wwpaddler when you’re at Uni how does the week pan out? My wife has been training at Aberdeen for primary teaching and has been in Monday to Thursday but said others doing secondary education were in only 2 to 3 days a week.

Right, Design Technology got it. I appreciate that a great deal has changed since I was at school (I’m 34 this year so you weren’t far off).

I have been an architect for the past 9 years and did all the training for that previously so I think I’m reasonably familiar with some of the current themes in design and technology but will still have lots to learn no doubt. Not least the skill of actually teaching well!

Thanks…hopefully he’ll notice this post.

I’m sure I have noticed some others who may be in the profession on the ‘things I have made’ thread. Lots of backgrounds in photos that look like school workshops.

I’ve reported it to the police and have put a sign up on the bridge cycle path as well as sharing on all the local cycling club websites etc. So far no luck unfortunately.

I’d expect most people would ride along riverside to get there so I don’t think it’d be likely as it wasn’t found near there really. It’s worth a try though. I’m just posting links on every message board available at the moment and will see what comes of it.

Unfortunately there are no owner details on the load up screen. It’s a good idea though and I think I’ll do that with my own one. Have posted info on the fb pages of some local cycling clubs so hopefully someone will come forward and claim it.

I’ve downloaded it and can see roughly where it started from which happens to be on my commute home. I’ll see if I spot any cyclists on the way home who look like they’re having a bad day. From what I can see this was the first time it had ever been used. Nightmare.

Or go for the 2013 carbon model for the same money but with full ultegra (all be it 10spd). Amazing value if bang up to date gearing doesn’t bother you.

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b0s6p4906/GIANT-TCR-COMPOSITE-1-2013

The best combo I had was an ardent on the rear and an advantage on the front. They were 2.4s though so massive for my purposes. I changed them for on one smorgasbords and they’re really poor in comparison. Would like to go back to the maxxis combo but a little skinnier.

Personally I really didn’t like the Apple setup in terms of i-tunes etc. and have found Android to give much more freedom since swapping from Apple a few years ago. Being able to get vastly cheaper phones with a similar spec to the iphone is important to me too. That said, I saw the new Samsung Galaxy 6 with curved screen yesterday and although I’m pretty sure it’s entirely pointless, it looks awesome. Much nicer than an iphone in my opinion.

I bought some very nice FSA tape from Halfords recently for £10. It grips the bar well without being sticky and goes on and comes off leaving no sticky residue whatsoever. Highly recommended.

I find that lots of times it’s pretty hit and miss with the track pump so I got a cheap co2 tool for about 5 quid off eBay and 12 canisters for 10. Just use one to inflate each tyre. No soapy water and no getting covered in tubeless solution. I reckon it’s worth 1.50 a wheel and you can top up solution as you need it and regulate pressure with the track pump.

The co2 tool is a useful thing to have in your back pack too.

Progress! Not had much time to look at it but the skewer and 2p combined method worked so thanks for the tip. It took a good whack with a lump hammer. Just got to get the axle and bearings off now. More of the same methods I think.

I’m going to give that a go tonight. I’m amazed at the amount of effort so far without any indication that it might come off. It makes the idea of hope hubs being easily serviceable seem a bit of a joke really. I’ve just serviced my campagnolo hubs and it was just so much easier.

None that I can see. There are the usual notches caused by the cassette but nothing other than that. I would send it back to Hope but that’s mean dismantling and rebuilding the whole wheel. Might end up taking it to LBS but I can’t think what they’re going to be able to do either.

I have tried both of those methods without success. Have tried hitting the axle through with far more force than I ought to and it didn’t even budge a millimeter. I also have a lot of very concave 2 pence pieces.

I also tried putting an old cassette on and using a bearing puller. I now have a very bent old cassette.

Am I missing something obvious? It’s there anything else that needs to come off apart from the end caps?

Ah, the only slight problem is they don’t have a 60cm. They do size up quite big though so it might be alright for you.

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m7b65s6p5221/CANNONDALE-SUPERSIX-ULTEGRA-COMPACT-2013

This is what I’d get, assuming you don’t mind last years ultegra. Great wheels for training on or winter riding and loads of money left over for some really nice ones for racing and summer rides. It looks pretty classy too, I do love a supersix, wish I could afford one :-)

Sorry to go slightly off topic but when you go for a lunch time how long do you run for and do you bother to shower when back at the office? I like the idea of it but the logistics of it sound like a pain?

I would certainly be interested in them thanks. Otherwise I might just change both bikes to the cheapest shimano versions as they seem to be of a similar nature and it’s as cheap to buy 2 sets as it is to buy 1 set of times.